The magical excitement of what presents will be under the tree on Christmas morning was almost ruined for a six-year-old girl when her dream Barbie present arrived in the post in just its box with no postal packaging around it.

Trevor Shaftoe ordered the £42.39 Barbie Pet Care Centre Playset from Amazon as a special Christmas present for step-daughter Chelsea.

However, it arrived with just the address attached to the box removing any element of surprise.

Speaking to Cornwall Live , Trevor, 34, said: "It’s one of her main presents and if she had seen it then it really would have ruined Christmas Day for her”, said Trevor.

“Even the postman was shocked.

“It’s just so lucky that she was not near the door when the bell rang because she would have seen the whole thing, how would she not without any packaging?”

Trevor Shaftoe and his partner, Natasha

Trevor added that Chelsea “absolutely loves” Barbie and he and his partner, Natasha, are definitely experiencing her Barbie phase.

Shocked by the delivery service, he decided to take to social media to try and get a response and clarification from the internet giant.

“I tweeted Amazon about it”, said Trevor. “But they didn’t seem to care.

“They said there is an extra box to tick for packaging, but you can easily miss that.

“Christmas could be ruined for potentially millions of children with this type of thing.”

Trevor tweeted Amazon, telling them he thought they had missed the point and wished them a Merry Christmas.

An Amazon spokesperson said: "Amazon works hard to minimize the amount of packaging materials that we use.

“Our Ships in Own Container option means that the product box has been tested and certified to be shipped without an additional overbox, to avoid unnecessary packaging.

“However, should you wish to keep your purchase a surprise, please either select the option ‘ship in Amazon box’ or ‘this is a gift’ at checkout – which will then ask if you would like to purchase a gift bag for your product.”